Many anglers think that Rock Creek is purely a nymph fishing stream and that the trout want generally feed on the surface or take dry flies. I think that is probably because several articles have been written that more or less state that. In our several trips there at different times of the year and during several different years we have not found that to be the case. I certainly wouldn't go so far as to say that Rock Creek is a top dry fly stream. I am just saying that they seem to feed on the surface there as well as most places.

Another reason I suppose that stuck with some is that the creek has a lot of deep pools. Other than the normal pools that may be less than five feet deep, for example, there are many that are much deeper. In fact, it is difficult to get a nymph down to the bottom in many places.

I'm not suggesting that anglers should fish a dry fly when nothing is hatching. I would tend to always use a nymph or larva imitation under the no hatch to match situation. That said, I haven't found that the stream necessarily has any more or fewer hatches than any other freestone stream of its type in the western Rocky Mountains. Stoneflies are very plentiful in Rock Creek. Most of the time you will get far better results fishing a stonefly nymph than you would an imitation of the adult but that is no different on Rock Creek than anywhere else. I have recently posted a hatch chart on our "Perfect Fly" website for Rock Creek.

There is an early Skwala Stonefly hatch that occurs in March and part of April. We have not fished the stream during that time period. The salmonfly hatch often occurs during the runoff. It is hit or miss, mostly miss at Rock Creek. The Golden Stoneflies are often still around after runoff and they can provide a lot of action some years. The main stonefly attraction at rock Creek is the Yellow Sally. They hatch over a long time at one place or another along the fifty mile creek. We have experienced some fine dry fly trout fishing just before dark during the Yellow Sally hatch.

There is usually a very good October Caddis hatch but it occurs from about the middle of September until the first or second week in October. In addition, Rock Creek has a okay hatch of Green Drakes but it is usually not a huge hatch. There is the usual PMD hatch that occurs over a long period of time along with a few other mayflies. None of the mayflies hatch in huge numbers but they are not exactly poor hatches by any means. I would call them equal for most any mountain freestone stream of this type.

If you choose to fish Rock Creek and I would highly recommend it to anyone, don't fail to be on the outlook for hatches and be prepared for some dry fly action. In spite of what you may have read otherwise, Rock Creek does have its fair share of good dry fly fishing. Copyright 2008 James Marsh